“The bigger the stage, the bigger the game, the better he’s going to play. He really embraces that role. He embraces being in the moment. ... I’ve never seen anyone that loves to play the game more than this young man.”

How much do you guys think Edelman can cover for Welker? I may have a few questions and play devils advocate a bit, but I really want to get a sense of how good you guys think he is and can be. He did score against the colts.

Well, he says he's learned a lot from Moss, Brady, and Welker---and it's more than just wishful thinking to see him as the next Welker in a few years. Better still, may they be a fearsome twosome for several years to come---and hey, finally Welker will get a bit of much deserved relief from such a heavy workload.

To me, he fits that Bruschi mold: not an attractive talent in terms of the draft but his toughness, work ethic, and intelligence is going to make him a Patriots great when everything's said and done. I have absolutely nothing to back this (hey, who does?) but you get that vibe with certain players.

NO ONE CAN REPLACE WES WELKER. and like his college coach said. edelman needs to go out there on sunday and be edelman. he doesnt need to try to be welker because he simply isnt. ive been excited about this kid since rookie mini camps, and i think he has HUGE potential.

Fowler, I would tend to agree with you most without the information to really know. In Indy, Collie has been a very welcome surprise as a rookie with likely a similar work ethic as Edelman. The difference is that Collie came in as a receiver. That said, Edelman as a QB would have more knowledge about what a receiver should do (although he hadn't done it) than someone coming from any other position to WR.

I think the unique talent that Welker has is that he seems to always be capable of finding the opening under coverage or within it. I think some years of study and play develop that and this is where I think your statement, Fowler, makes sense.

Edelman is physically gifted with more lateral acceleration than even Welker, a 3.91 short shuttle versus Welker's 4.02 (the average for WRs is around 4.3). As a rule one defender can't cover him at all. He caught 10 passes last Sunday.

Nor can one defender ever bring him down. After he catches the ball in the open field (Brady sets these things up for everyone), he squirts left or right while the other guy stands still. He's usually tackled from behind while slithering through a hole between two defenders. While watching TV, keep in your head which direction he's coming from. When someone from his side of the field gets the ball, put the glass and the food down because Edelman can break both punts and screen passes. A one yard toss to Edelman, if he's open, beats a five yard pass to the average WR because of yards after the catch.

Edelman is also three inches taller than Welker. Nine months ago he was completely skinny, but I assume that nine months in the weight room has helped him a bit.

Edelman had a reputation in camp for always doing things right, whatever a coach asks of him he gets it right. He's smart. He's a quick learning sponge. That's why a guy who never played WR in college got on the field around game 1.

Welker is outstanding, but at this point I don't see too much dropoff with Edelman.

Because Edelman is a sponge and an ex-QB, he is a perfectly natural and legitimate threat to throw downfield on Baltimore, probably on an end-around. Bill Belichick didn't really prepare for Houston, so he probably has a bunch of gimmick plays loaded up, and an Edelman pass is a good prognostication.

like BB always says, the biggest improvement in a player is from year one to year two, and i think if he works hard this offseason, which seems to be his MO, he can put on a lot of muscle, and really (i mean REALLLLY) improve his WR skills.

Welker led or tied the NFL in catches for three years straight. Edelman is not going to be a Welker anytime soon. I think he's going to be good, but I won't say he's Welker until he also leads the NFL in receptions for 1, 2, or 3 years... Not being a grinch, just putting it into perspective. I often wonder how these star players feel about fans saying someone is the next blah blah blah. It would be like some hotshot kid coming out of Harvard, joining a leading investment firm, doing real well, and telling your buddies this kid is the next Warren Buffett.

I don't think Edelman will put up Welker numbers against the Ravens. He will do well but come down to earth a bit. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It probably means the Pats have a plan to get more people involved in the offense; something many of us want. I believe there is a correlation between the number of people who catch passes from Brady, and his ability to come through in the clutch. Show me a Brady who frequently scans every guy to see who is open (out of necessity) and I'll show you a Brady who always makes the clutch play. Show me a Brady who is accustomed to going to only a couple of receivers and I'll show you a Brady who has lost a lot of his clutch play abilities.

I want Edleman to be good, but I hope he's just one of 8 players who catch passes Sunday.

Because Edelman is a sponge and an ex-QB, he is a perfectly natural and legitimate threat to throw downfield on Baltimore, probably on an end-around. Bill Belichick didn't really prepare for Houston, so he probably has a bunch of gimmick plays loaded up, and an Edelman pass is a good prognostication.Posted by Paul_K

I give it a very high probability of occurring. The big tipoff to me was in one of Brady's interviews this week. When answering a question about Edelman, he provided an unsolicited joke about how Edelman can't throw for darn. He doesn't know how he was ever a QB because he couldn't hit a barn. Was this just a joke, or was it a setup?

Guys...I was at the Pats / Texans game last week and had a chance to watch Edelman warm up and play. he is every bit as squirmy as Welker is, and he seems to be harder to bring down.

I think given a couple of years, he could put up similar numbers as Welker. ONe of the reasons his numbers look so pedestrian this year is because he simply was not targeted as often as Welker/Moss, and he was out due to injury.

When Welker went down last week and Edelman became the primary, we saw what he can do given the chance. Now he has the chance from the opening kick-off, lets see if he can keep it going. My money is on this kid to produce when the Pats need him. However, to come out and put the game on his shoulders like we do Wes, is out of the question. I would not ask this guy to carry the team right now, but play an important role.

I have no idea what wrinkles or plans the Pats have to deal with the Ravens D, but Edelman will play an importnat role and I think he is up for it. I would like to see more screen passes for Edelman like we did last week, and possibly get a bit creative and use him in some type of Wildcat formation of sorts.

Wes once its all said and done will be talked about in the likes of Troy Brown in Pats history. Edelman has a long way to go, with that been said I think this is his coming out party.Thinking long term how nice will it be to have Moss, Edelman outside and Wes in the slot? Not next year because Wes will need full year to rehad the knee but in the future.Bring in Tate if he pans out and you have the makings of a great WR crew. Randy is getting older I agree but he ran 4.2_ as a young man now he might be in the 4.3s how many 22 yr olds run a 4.3 now?He can play as long as he wants. but as far as Edelman, how smart is BB? and there are still doubts about 2009's draft.

It's obvious that Edelman is still learning how to catch the ball, but he has every move Wes does, definitely bigger, maybe faster in four directions but he can't catch the ball like Welker.

It seems like my muscle memory can't recall Wes Welker dropping a pass he should have caught... ever. I'm sure it's happened, but with so many receptions the fact that he might have the best hands in the NFL is easy to over look. He cradles the ball like Rice and has the softest hands.

Edelman isn't the pure receiver (yet) but he can still make some big plays to help a team win, he needs to return punts if Wes isn't and he can really explode.